How to prevent beard itch - a beginners guide to regaining your sanity.

Growing and maintaining a beard ain’t easy. Beard itch and dry skin can become a nightmare, the bane of any beard fans existence and a threat to would be beard men everywhere. But what can be done to prevent beard itch, and what’s the cure for when it strikes?

So, why does my beard itch?

First, lets look at the science. Beards contain thicker hair cuticles than the hair at the top of your head. When the relatively tougher bristles grow, it can cause irritation and inflammation on the skin. Once beards grow, they often itch because of the food, dust and dead skin that gets trapped in the hair. Shaving is an exfoliant, so without this, your face collects dry skin around your bearded region. This also contributes to irritation. Early itchy growth often occurs as a result of your years spent shaving. Shaving sharpens your facial hair, giving it a sandpaper texture, and when this coarse hair breaks through and irritates the skin, which results in inflammation and dryness and a few unfortunate ingrown hairs.

Another beard fail is when men neglect to moisturized or protect their beards from exposure to harsh climates; sunlight, wind, humidity can all take its toll. Basically, without preventative measures, beards dry out, become flakey and can extremely itchy. The common mistake men make with fuller beards is not having a daily routine to keep the beard healthy. Beards need time, care and love, like everything else does. Dreaded Itchiness can come from not exfoliating, not moisturizing and not properly drying the beard after a shower.

Learn more about the history of beard oil.

These are not new problems. They are as old as man, which is why there are some solutions that have evolved over time to help you growth your ideal beard.

How to prevent beard itch.

It’s all about managing your routine. Every man can ditch beard itch completely by using the following 4 steps.

Step 1: Wash

Washing your beard gets rid of dead skin and all the excess junk sitting in the base of your beard that triggers the dreaded beard itch. It’s important to not go overboard, as over washing can damage the natural oils and hair fibers.

Tip 1: Keep a routine of washing your beard with shampoo 3 times a week. If you need to clean your beard between wash days, use warm water on a face towel.

Tip 2: Don’t use just any old regular shampoo. Use a beard wash specifically made for beards. Beard hair is androgenic and affected by testosterone levels, which means it can’t be cleaned with traditional hair shampoo or soap. Worse still, regular hair shampoo will strip the beard of its natural oils, clogging pores and damaging the hair. The net effect is this; most supermarket shampoos will make the itching worse, not better.

To wash your beard, apply beard wash generously to a damp beard and work it into the roots of the hair with your fingertips until a good lather has formed. Rinse the beard thoroughly and dry it with a towel.

Step 2: Condition

beard conditioner is essential to an good bearded life. So much so, we made a post not so long ago about it. Essentially, Beard conditioner keeps the beard hydrated and softens the hair to prevent damage. The top tip is this: find a proper beard conditioner, not the low end supermarket stuff you put on top of your head.

Step 3: Moisturise

Once beards are washed and conditioned, the worst should be over. But to keep your itch free status you need to take a few extra steps to protect your beard. Beard moisturiser gives you that all day hydration. This is where products like beard balm(with added moisturiser), beard butter and beard oil come in. Apply a few drops of beard oil onto your hand and massage this into skin and base of your beard hair. It will help shape your beard, protect it from the elements and lock in that essential moisture.

 Step 4: Groom

For this essential step, you’ll need the right brush. Brushes aren’t created equal. A typical hairbrush won’t get the job done. What you are actually looking for is something like a boar bristle beard brush or Moustache comb. Simply brush the beard down from the roots and comb the moustache from the center out to create a part. Starting by brushing to the side to untangle and hair and then a second pass straight down can give a better overall finish.

It’s also important to share the beard, and tidy away any uneven growth, and trim back the excess damaged hair that can cause an itchy beard. If you’re in the early stages of growing your beard, you should leave any trimming until around the 3 month mark, once the beard is long enough to cover any patchy areas. If you don’t visit a barber regularly, you can find a good pair of beard trimming scissors to snip any unruly hairs and maintain the shape of the beard.

And if that doesn’t work?

Many bearded individuals can suffer from acute rash or in-grown hairs. Bad skin can mean bad beards. Diet can help with this, but if you have tried everything, a product like this beard cream might do the trick.